


Advanced Investigative Journalism

by wittyno



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Jeff never went to greendale, Past Relationship(s), Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension, angst and banter, cute capers, think of investigative journalism plus Basic Intergluteal Numismatics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wittyno/pseuds/wittyno
Summary: Jeff never got caught and never went to Greendale. Annie is an investigative journalist for the Greendale Observer. Think Investigative Journalism plus Basic Intergluteal Numismatics.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 43
Kudos: 38





	1. Cigars and Newspapers

**Author's Note:**

> This is Jeff and Annie without the study group to make them better people. 
> 
> If you like it let me know and I'll write more. 
> 
> A big thank you to the #fan-fic channel on Discord. They are so helpful and funny to boot.

“Edison, get in here,” Annie’s boss called from her doorway. Annie sprang up and followed Frankie into her office. In the five years Annie worked at the Greendale Observer, Frankie’s office had never changed. The bad lighting turned everything a sickly green color. The photo frames still had their stock photos in them. The nice throw pillows on Shirley had gotten Frankie couldn’t quite hide how moth-eaten and threadbare couch was. The curtains didn’t hide the fact that the office window had a crack in it. Annie sat down in the rickety chair opposite Frankie’s desk. Frankie looked over her desk at Annie. 

“Tag Brennan’s trial is starting today. I need you to go down to the courthouse and find out everything you can.” Annie’s eyes lit up. Hope ballooning in her chest. 

“I can call my friends from City College,” Annie promised them justice, and now after months of waiting Annie could do her part. 

“No, he urinated on a vegetable stand while drunk.” Annie’s shoulders drooped. The balloon in her chest popped. 

“What’s the headline? ‘Mayor’s son is an asshole’.” Frankie fixed her with one of her famous questioning stares. Annie knew she had no choice but to comply.

“This is what we have to do to keep the lights on. I understand you want to write your big feature, but we don’t have enough.” Annie groaned and stood up to leave. Annie Edison hated guys like Tag Brennan. Men who had everything but took more anyway.

Annie had gone to high school with Tag. Even back then she had tried to expose him, but the adults in charge had done what they always did. Turn a blind eye, because he was the mayor’s son. Annie rolled her eyes and got up. _All hail the golden boy,_ she thought. 

"and Edison?” Annie turned around. “Winger is representing him.” Annie’s heart skipped a beat before filling with dread. Unbidden, memories swam up to the surface of her consciousness. Rough and sloppy kisses, whispered nothings... Annie slammed shut the door on those specific memories, but Frankie must have noticed, because she said. 

“Please careful.” Had anyone else said it, Annie would have thrown a fit, but Frankie said it with such honesty and lack of malice that Annie couldn’t bring herself to. 

Annie found Jeff Winger leaning against a marble pillar near the courtroom’s entrance. Since her meeting with Frankie, she’d traded her normal cardigan-dress combo for a plain black suit dress, matching blazer, and heels. It was the first thing she’d learned about reporting. Blend in. If you’re at a pool party, wear a bikini, if you’re in a courthouse, wear a suit. The only thing that didn’t change was her notebook. Most reporters nowadays used their phones for notes, but Annie couldn’t bring herself to give up her notebook. One day she was going to run out of the room. 

“Mr. Winger, any chance I could get a quote?” Annie asked, meeting his eye. She’d practiced it in the car on the way over. Show no weakness. Weakness is chum for sharks like Jeff Winger. He gave her his winning smile. It melted her resolve more than she would like to admit. Jeff had grown a beard since the last time she'd seen him. Annie couldn't help but imagine what it would feel like to kiss him now.

“For you, Ms. Edison?” He straightened, towering over her. Annie’s brain short-circuited. She could feel sweat form on her brow. This hadn’t been part of her plan. “My client is innocent, and we’ll prove it at trial.” His response snapped her back to reality. Between practicing for her meeting with Jeff, she had called a friend in the police department to understand what Tag Brennan had done this time. 

“Thirty people saw him urinate on a vegetable stand in the middle of the day.” 

“His only crime was loving pears.” Jeff stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued to give her his best shark grin.

“How do you represent such an unrepentant bastard? You and I both know that ‘loving pears’ isn’t his only crime. Ask the students of City College.” Jeff’s smile never faltered. 

“Nothing anyone has said would hold up in court.” Her eyebrows shot up, surprise supplanting her anger. Everyone somehow knew what Tag had done, so either he was as heartless as everyone always said or he too self-involved to care. She crossed her arms. 

“It makes you wonder. If those stories are true, what does that make you? His accomplice?” 

“His lawyer.” 

“You keep him on the streets so he can continue to destroy lives. For what? Your next Lexus?” The smile faded from his face. 

“You’re here too. Don’t act all high and mighty with me. I own the fact that I’m a pariah. You have no right to act all holier than thou. Because last time I checked, your piece won’t be some grand expose about the exploitation of our legal system. It will be about a kid who was allegedly drunk and allegedly urinated at a public vegetable stand. So, don’t come over here in your tight dress and high heels and lecture me about my life choices. You’re just like the rest of us. You’re not willing to admit it.” With that, he walked away, but not before hitching his smile back into place. Annie’s mind was whirring. Was she just as bad as the rest of them? Had she failed?

A few short weeks later and the trial was over. Jeff Winger worked his charm, and the Mayor’s son had walked. The Mayor had been so happy he had invited everyone in Greendale to a formal dinner. Press included. Frankie had forced Annie to go. Frankie just didn’t want to spend the evening hobnobbing with the who’s not of Greendale’s elite. Annie couldn’t blame her.

She shifted in her dress. A plain dark purple v-neck Shirley had picked out for her. She hated functions like this. It didn’t help that she was at least ten years younger than most of the attendants. Annie felt like a kid being allowed to sit at the adult table for the first time, but not quite knowing what to say. She was so lost in thought, she didn’t hear Tag come up behind her. 

“Little Annie Adderall. Didn’t think I’d see you here. Aren’t you too good for parties like this?” Annie took a step back as her blood ran cold, but she tried to keep calm. Tag looked like a bizarro Captain America. Guys like Tag wanted a reaction. They wanted her to yell and scream. So, she forced herself to smile and be pleasant. 

“I’m doing my job, Tag.” He advanced on her. She took another step back. He was taller and bigger than her. His brown eyes filled with contempt. 

“Like you were doing your job in high school? You cost me my football scholarship to Notre Dame.” Her exposé on Tag had been on the Riverside High Newspaper website for only a couple of hours before the school had forced her to take it down. By chance a recruiter at Notre Dame had seen it before she had to delete it. 

“I didn’t cost you anything. I told everyone what you did.” It was true. It had been her first proper story. Annie had made mistakes, but she had learned, and one day she knew she would take Tag Brennan down. Tag doubled down, and he took another step towards her. 

“It must burn you up inside that I am still here.” Tag's face contorted into a malicious grin. He wasn’t wrong. She hated him. He still had everything while everyone else was left to pick up the pieces. There was no use in telling him that. She squared her shoulders and smiled. He advanced again and Annie took another step back, but this time her back hit the wall. Fear flooded through her, but she suppressed it. Men like Tag lived off fear. Annie narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice so only Tag could hear.

“Aren’t you worried Daddy’s protection might run out? What if next time the cavalry doesn’t come, and you’re all alone in that little grey cell?” Anger flashed in Tag’s eyes and he grabbed her arm. Someone grabbed Tag by the shoulder and pulled him off Annie. While Tag was tall, Jeff was taller. All the menace went out of Tag and he adopted his best crocodile tears look. 

“Jeff, she was attacking me.” Jeff rolled his eyes. 

“She’s 160 pounds soaking wet, and it’s Mr. Winger to you.” Tag shrank back at the cold steel in Jeff’s voice. 

“I am sorry, Mr. Winger.”

“Go find your dad and tell him he owes me and my firm money.” Tag slinked around the corner and he was gone. Jeff turned to Annie and smiled at her. Not the shark grin he gave when she had seen him in court. No, it was conspiratorial, like they had just fought off a dragon together. Annie nodded her head in thanks, and took a drag from his cigar. Jeff stood next to her, looking out over the party. The mayor’s mansion was beautiful. A fire danced in an ornate fireplace. Famous paintings hung on the walls, and it was all a stage for Greendale’s first family. 

“Nice cigar,” Annie said, smoothing down her dress. 

“Gift from the Mayor.” _So, the favor mill keeps on turning,_ Annie thought with a sigh. She had to admit he looked damn good in his dark grey suit with subtle white pinstripes and light blue open-collar shirt. The cigar he was smoking didn’t help either. Watching Jeff smoke, made the butterflies in Annie’s stomach zoom around excitedly.

“I figured. A little extra for getting his son off again.”

He held out his arms. “What can I say? I am the best.”

Annie’s brows knitted together. She admired his effortless charm. He could have the entire room at his command and not break a sweat. Annie would rather bite off her tongue than tell him that. 

“You can’t tell me getting him off felt good. What about the people who are getting hurt?” 

“The only thing that got hurt was some already moldy fruit.” Annie fixed him with a glare, she hoped would intimidate him. 

“So shitty people get away with shitty things so you can keep paying for Armani and Rolex?”

Jeff turned to her. The effortless smile dropped from his face, replaced by an expression of pure contempt. Closing the distance between them until they were mere inches apart. Annie's breath hitched. He lowered his voice.

“You like being on the underdog team, don’t you? How else would you explain the offers on your nightstand: New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe…” Annie had forgotten for a second that he had seen the inside of her apartment. Of course, he had gone snooping. Their night together had always felt unmoored from the rest of her life. Like a bubble on the river of time. “Why work at the newspaper equivalent of a public rec center? Because you need to feel needed and in control. If your back is always against the wall, then there is no need to grow or change. Isn’t that right mountain flower?” Annie threw back the only thing she could think of.

“Vaughn and I are engaged,” Annie retorted, not quite keeping the quiver out of her voice. A malicious grin spread across his face. 

“And for the second you weren’t, you came running to me. What does that say about you?” Annie made the mistake of looking up into his enamel blue eyes because beneath a thick veneer of sarcasm and one-up-man-ship was something akin to hurt. The worst part was, Annie knew Jeff was right. 


	2. Structural Intergrity of a Shed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie gets a phone call. Jeff runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A massive thank you to the #fan-fic channel on the Community Discord server. You are keeping me sane. Air gapped computers are computers that have never been and can never be attached to the internet (ie other computers).

“What does that say about you?” Jeff’s words tailed Annie all the way home.

 _Nothing you jerk,_ Annie thought bitterly as she jerked on her car onto Main Street. _It’s not like I was cheating on Vaughn_ , crossed her mind as she screeched to a halt in front of a red light. 

She had kissed Jeff scarcely an hour after she'd broken up with Vaughn. Annie badly wanted to believe that she had been raw and needed some company. The breakup hadn’t hurt. Annie felt relieved. More memories flashed through her mind as she parked in front of Dildopolis. Her pushing Jeff up against the door of her bedroom. Jeff standing behind her, hands at her hips, kissing her neck as she fumbled with her keys. She never told Vaughn about Jeff. She wasn’t ashamed, but Vaughn would get jealous over nothing. Annie didn’t even know why she got back together with him. When he had proposed in front of an entire park of people saying yes seemed like the path of least resistance. Annie entered her apartment and locked the door behind her. 

After she broke up with Vaughn, the first thing she had done was call a locksmith and have all her locks changed. Since then, she kept forgetting to give him a new key. Annie hung her keys on the little hook board Shirley had gotten her. The board was made of oak and had three hooks in it. Each labeled Mama, Papa, and baby. At first Annie had resented the present. Just because Shirley had married her high school sweetheart didn’t mean Annie had to follow suit. Not that it had worked out well for Shirley. Annie didn’t complain because at least she didn’t get Britta’s gift a book called _How To Keep A Man When You’re Pushing Thirty_. Annie exhaled. She hated her neighborhood, but her apartment? Even with its wall cracks and mice infestation, it was her sanctuary. 

Annie showered and changed into her fluffy pink pajamas. She sat down at the edge of her bed and brushed out her wet hair. Her mind drifted. Had Jeff been right? Was she afraid of growing? Annie shook herself. What did he know? They had met less than a year ago. He didn’t know her. Sure, he had helped her out once or twice before that night, but nothing crazy. All Annie wanted to do now was crawl under her covers and watch _The Little Mermaid_. What would have happened if she had slept later that morning? What if Jeff had woken up before her? 

Annie let out a small yelp as her phone rang. Who would call her at 1 am? Probably Vaughn wanting to tell her how a rock he had found reminded him of her. Annie rolled her eyes, went to hit ignore. But it wasn’t Vaughn calling. The display read **Caller ID Blocked**. Relieved it wasn’t Vaughn, Annie picked up.

“Hello.”

“Annie Edison?” The voice was robotic and cracking. Someone was using a voice modulator, but why? Annie’s nerve endings stood on end. A million possibilities exploded inside Annie’s head. _What if this was the big break The Observer needs? So people stop thinking of us as a bunch of misfits._ Something big was about to happen. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. 

“Yes, who is this? How did you get this number?” Her voice was steady, but her legs were shaking. 

“That’s not important. In about ten minutes you are going to get an email telling you that the mayor’s budget proposal is being delayed by three weeks.” That’s not good. The mayor was up for reelection. A delay like this could be a major setback for him. It was also top secret information. There were max five people who had that information. 

“How do you know?” 

“It doesn’t matter how I know.” The voice sounded angry. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine. 

“Is anybody in danger?” 

“This isn’t a scary call, Ms. Edison. I’m just establishing my credibility. We’ll talk again soon.” There was a soft click, and the line went dead. As if it were a prized jewel, Annie laid her phone on her nightstand. She flopped onto her bed, the impact forcing all the air out of her lungs. 

Sure enough, ten minutes later an email from the mayor’s office popped up saying they will delay the budget proposal for three weeks. Annie sat up, suddenly wide awake. The rest of the night’s events swept away by the excitement of the last 15 minutes. This was it! This was her Woodward and Bernstein moment. Unless this was an elaborate prank to make her and The Observer look foolish. Someone looking to discredit her. 

She tried to sleep, but she spent the rest of the night staring up at the ceiling, thinking about what all of this might mean. When the sky outside pinked and the birds chirped. Annie decided it was ok to get up. It was Saturday. By the time she was getting dressed and brewed her coffee, she had convinced herself that it had all been a dream. Her overactive imagination plus what Jeff had said. It’s not like the other offers hadn’t excited her. New York, DC that was the big time. But she couldn’t just leave The Observer. Everyone there was her family. 

As she waited for her coffee to cool Annie opened her phone. There were the standard three morning texts from Vaughn. She had stopped asking why he insisted on sending her three separate good mornings. At first she had responded in kind, but these days she just didn’t have the energy. 

More out of habit than anything else, Annie opened her email inbox. There were a bunch of interoffice memos that meant nothing because they all worked in one bullpen. Only Frankie got her own office. Then there were the spam emails. Someone in IT had screwed up because they had turned their spam filters off, so Annie got emails like “Attract Men With Bigger Breasts” and ‘HELLO ME NOT DEAD’. Annie was going to try again to get IT to do their jobs. But then between all the advertisements for magic pills and Nigerian Princes was an email from her old school email address. That was weird. But there it was no subject just from: aedison@riverhigh.edu. Without thinking, Annie opened it. 

It read “buy air gapped computer and wait for instructions - Deep Throat.” 

Annie’s heart pounded in her ears. Was this it? Why would they sign off with Deep Throat? Was it a joke or…? What if it was real, and she screwed it up? Her breaths grew ragged. This was too much. She couldn’t do this alone. Annie needed help. But who? Frankie was her first thought, but Frankie had her hands full keeping the magazine afloat and she didn’t want Frankie to know about this. Plausible deniability if this whole thing went south. She needed someone who didn’t deserve plausible deniability. Someone who could weather the potential shit storm with her. Vaughn? Dead weight, nobody would believe that he was smart enough. The man couldn’t even wear a shirt. No, she needed someone who was smart and could keep their cool under pressure. 

The realization hit her like a moving train. Jeff. He was her only option. She swore as she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. Annie stepped outside. Her now lukewarm coffee abandoned. As she stepped outside the last gasps of summer warmed her skin. Figuring out where Jeff lived had been easy. Those find people’s websites work better than they should. Annie could have gotten his address from Britta. _I didn’t ask her because I don’t want to involve her. Don’t be stupid Annie, you’re not telling her because telling her would mean admitting you need that handsome jackass’s help and that’s after Britta told you to stay away from him._ Britta knew what she was talking about. She and Jeff were friends.

Britta had stumbled into Annie’s life at one of Vaughn’s performances. High out of her mind, and Annie not wanting for anything to ruin Vaughn’s performance, back when that mattered. Annie helped Britta onto a nearby park bench. Britta pointed at Vaughn and through fits of giggles gasped out “tiny nipples”. Annie burst out laughing and five minutes later they were friends. 

Jeff’s neighborhood looked like it had just walked out of a gardening magazine. Perfectly pruned flowerbeds, white picket fences, bushes pruned to just the right shape. She parked two blocks away from Jeff’s house. She didn’t want anyone to see them together. Britta told her Jeff went for the same run every morning. Annie hadn’t asked how Britta knew that. _Deep breath, Annie. He’s just a means to an end._ Annie locked her car and looked up. She couldn’t very well ring his doorbell. Annie cast around, chastising herself for not thinking of a clandestine meeting place first.

Then she spotted that Jeff’s next-door neighbor had a garden shed, and the door was ajar. Annie stuffed her keys in her pocket and hurried over to the shed. _Look like you own it._ She repeated to herself. Annie reached the shed door, peered inside, it appeared to be empty, she slipped inside. It was tiny, dark, and damp. Annie hoped they would both fit in. She turned around to peer through the cracks, and there he was running down the sidewalk. _Right on time_. He was wearing matching black workout shorts and a sleeveless top **,** sweat glistening on his biceps.

He stopped in front of his house. Her cheeks colored as he stretched. She remembered what it felt like to be close to him. Jeff propped up against her bed’s headboard, his hands tucked behind his head, a self-satisfied smirk playing across his features. She’d looked at him and giggled, tucking herself next to him. Annie shook her head. This was not the time for fantasies. 

* * *

Jeff Winger was having a great day. Last night he’d gotten so far under Annie’s skin she'd stormed off. Her jaw set, cheeks red with indignation. He loved it when the fire in her belly reflected in her glass blue eyes. Fire that burned cities to the ground and toppled empires. Annie’s eyes always showed him what she was thinking. He’d coined Disney eyes, and he was proud of it. 

Annie acted all high and mighty, but Jeff knew better. Annie was miserable in her perfect life with Vaughn, the human Hackysack. Jeff had never liked Vaughn. Even before he started dating Annie, but the day Annie showed at Britta’s bar a daffodil tucked in her hair and a horse pendant around her neck Vaughn had become his least favorite person. 

Jeff had spent the rest of the night with a pretty redhead. At two am, he snuck out of her apartment. What was her name? Rebecca? Regina? It didn’t matter. He’d gone home, taken a quick shower and nap, and now he was doing his morning run. He was sore from last night’s activities but he couldn’t disappoint all his fans. Middle-aged women who pruned their already perfect gardens at the same time every day just to watch him run by. 

Today, however, Jeff couldn’t focus on showing off for his adoring fans because he couldn’t stop thinking about the first time Annie had kissed him. He reasoned it was because she had worn the same dark purple dress last night. He remembered unzipping the back of it and watching the purple fabric pool at her feet. Trying to chase away the images that dress brought up, he stretched. His phone dinged, it could wait. Probably just some over eager intern. The phone dinged again. Jeff signed and pulled out his phone. 

His heart lurched. Annie was calling him, doubtless to give him a list of organized thought through rebuttals to what he accused her of last night. A list she spent all night writing. A smile spread across his face. He liked her spending all night thinking about him. 

“Milady?” His voice was low but jovial.

“I need to talk to you. Meet me in your neighbor’s shed. It’s important.” Her voice was high and full of nervous energy. Before he could respond she had hung up. Jeff chuckled. He sauntered over to his neighbor’s shed. When he got close, an arm reach out and pull him roughly into the tiny shed. He had just enough time to duck as to avoid the door frame. The shed was so small he couldn’t even stand up. He ended up hunched overlooking down at Annie’s face. Her face was flushed, her chest rising and failing, she looked nervous. There was scarcely enough room for both of them. They were so close he could feel her hot breath on his face. The corner of his mouth quirked up.

“Annie, if you wanted to role-play all you had to do was ask.” She swatted his chest, but a smile creeped onto her face. They stood there for a second. Just taking the other in. The air between them cracking in the summer heat. Annie wasn’t wearing her usual cardigan. The summer weather had her wearing a short sleeveless buttercup yellow sundress with white daisies on it. His eyes traveled downward. He could see the outline of her lace bra. To cover his leering, he said the first thing that popped into his head.

“Or have you come to tell me I was right? Realized that you’re too good for the Hackysack hippie?” He regretted his words instantly. Annie stopped smiling and her eyes widened with shock, but she seemed to swallow her reply. 

“I’ve got a lead and I need help chasing it down.” Then Annie tells him a story he can barely believe. He wants to accuse her of making it up just to see him again, but he knows better. She isn’t playing games. There was the same glint in her eye when she found out the dean at City College was investing in illegal ice cream truck operations. Annie had cornered him at The Vatican and asked him for help. He had said no but then gave him her patent Disney eyes and he couldn’t resist. Stupidly, he’d thought that once he’d had sex with her, she would no longer have power over him. 

“Ok I’ll help.” Annie froze. She had not excepted this. Jeff smirked, aside from making her angry. Making Annie Edison be at a loss for words was his favorite pastime. Annie was a bloodhound. She would go after this story with or without him. So why not stick around to watch the show? 

“What’s first, Nelly Bly?” 

“This entire operation is off-book. No one can know what you’re doing.”

“Not even Vaughn?” She glared at him. As an apology for his comments, he offered. “I’ll buy the computer. I know a guy in our IT department who can finish air gapping it.” Annie nodded in gratitude and started chewing on her lower lip. 

“He can’t know…” 

“I’ll tell him it’s for a client. Are you sure we aren’t being lead on a wild goose chase?” 

“The thought had crossed my mind, but this is too good. This person has to be high up. Whatever they have is juicy.” Annie was on the scent and she would not let go. They stood there for another minute. Not sure what to do with themselves. He met her eyes, and she gave him a sweet smile, and he smiled back. Jeff Winger felt his insides melt a little. They both jumped as a car horn sounded in the distance. He leaned against the wall of the shed. Trying to regain some level of cool. 

“If this is a ploy to get me to tell you more about Tag, you are wearing the wrong outfit.” Annie’s face screwed up in disgust. 

“Ew, no. Shouldn’t confidentiality keep you from telling me anything no matter what I wear.” 

He pushed open the door of the shed and as he was leaving, he called back, “Depends on the outfit.”


	3. Mynt and Cork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone who has supported this little story. Especially to the #fan-fic channel on the Community Discord server.

The next couple of days were dead. Annie’s brain was full of looping worries. What if it was all just a prank Jeff was in on? What if Jeff got caught or the IT guy figured it out? And yet she was excited. Excited for what the next step might hold. She hadn’t been this excited since… _Don’t open that door, Annie, you won’t like what you find._

Annie tried to put Jeff and their caper out of her mind when she went on her night-under-the-stars picnic with Vaughn. His picnic selection was 20 dollars’ worth of Whole Foods snacks. As soon as she munched on artisanal crackers, her worries returned. There were so many variables to consider and she had too little information. Annie snapped back to Vaughn’s babbling when he said.

“You can be our roadie.” Annie went completely still. Dread filling her stomach. Going on tour with Vaughn and the band sounded horrific. She must have looked confused because Vaughn answered. 

“You’re coming on tour with us, babe.” When her confused face didn’t let up, Vaughn added, “you’re my fiancé”. Annie’s blood ran cold. Is that what a fiancée did? 

“I have a job.” Annie knew it was a lame excuse before it left her lips. Vaughn threw his head back and stared up at the stars. 

“Stop thinking in terms of money and just live.” Annie rolled her eyes. Typical Vaughn. Head in the clouds. 

“We need money to live.”

“No babe. All we need is each other.” Annie secretly hated Vaughn’s go-with-the-flow philosophy. Annie’s insides boiled whenever he refused to plan. Worse when Annie did plan everything, Vaughn would change her plans without even asking her. He hadn’t asked if she wanted to get married, he had just proposed. Rather than confronting that conversation, she changed tac. 

“Where are you getting a tour bus?” Annie tried to sound disinterested. To underscore her point, she laid on the blanket and stretched out, desperately trying to convince Vaughn that she too could go-with-the-flow. 

“Dave’s mom…” Annie cut him off. Dave’s mom was a long-suffering supporter of Vaughn’s band. For years she had been driving Vaughn and the band to gigs. Annie had once asked her if she ever tired of it. Dave’s mom had told her she loved her son, and this was nothing. 

“She needs her car. I’m not going. I like my life here.” 

“You need to stop working for the man.” Annie sat up quickly, anger bubbling in her stomach. This again. Was he never going to get it through his thick skull? 

“I work for a newspaper, which by definition is not the man.”

“All I know it’s one system, babe. The road will be so much fun.” Annie crossed her arms as she said,

“What about me makes you think I would find that fun?” _So much for being chill._

“You love adventure and spending time together.” _I do, just not with you._ The thought came too quickly for her to stop it, and once she knew it, she couldn’t unknow it. Luckily, before it forced her to examine her thoughts any deeper, her phone buzzed. She liked her new phone. It was sleek and black. Jeff had recommended it after Vaughn had thrown her last one in the lake. Vaughn had said it was for them to get back to nature. A jolt of electricity danced over her skin as she recognized the name. 

**From: Jeff Winger**

**To: Annie**

_Got the computer. - J._

Annie got up so quickly that she almost fell over. Not even looking at Vaughn, she said, “I have to go.”

* * *

Half-way across town, Jeff Winger was making out with… why could he never remember her name. Regina? Rebecca. It was something with an R. She was in his phone under Redhead, Ball. Regina/Rebecca let out a soft moan beneath his touch, but it didn’t feel right. It was too high pitched. Annie’s was lower, more breathy. What the hell was wrong with him? Before his brain forced Jeff to unpack that his phone beeped. 

**From: Hot Brunette Reporter**

**To: Jeff**

_Good. Meet me at my apartment._

* * *

Annie got home in record time. Even Thanos Dildopolis, the owner of the marital aid store below her gave her a questioning look, and he didn’t bat an eye when people bought cookie dough flavored lube from him at Christmas. Not that Annie knew what Dildopolis sold. Ok, maybe Annie had spent some time in Dildopolis, but she had been writing a piece on Greendale’s factories' manufacturing failures, and one of those products was marital aids. Annie straightened out her already spotless apartment. But she resisted the urge to change out of her midnight blue dress and purple cardigan combo. Annie had just readjusted her couch cushion for the third time when her doorbell rang. She dawdled towards the door. To give the impression that she had not been waiting for him. Though knowing Jeff, he would just assume she had. She spied through her keyhole to see Jeff. She unlocked her topmost locks and opened the door. Jeff smiled down at her. He looked great in his jeans and dark grey t-shirt. And he was holding a Best Buy bag. Annie beckoned him inside, locking the door behind him and sliding the deadbolt home. 

“You live in a terrible neighborhood. The flickering hallway light brings together the whole serial killer murder spree theme.” He was grinning. He had something similar on his first visit to her apartment, back then Annie had made a joke about feeding him to the serial killer, now she just remained silent. 

“I need to show you something.” Annie turned and walked into her bedroom. Even though she had her back to him, Annie knew that at her words Jeff’s smile transformed into a smirk. But at least he followed her. 

“Vaughn must be lacking…” She cut him off, her voice steady.

“Shut up, I didn’t invite you here to talk about Vaughn. I want to talk about this.” Annie gestured to the corkboard on her wall. It had been her project over the last week. On it were five photographs, all labeled: Mayor Brennan, Kenny Wong (chief of staff), Mayor’s Wife (Gemma Brennan), Ginger Legrand (Mayor’s assistant), and Tyler Grundy (Mayor’s press secretary). Underneath the photos was the mayor’s public schedule for the last two weeks, and listing of every press briefing given and two-weeks’ worth of highlighted news-clippings, chronicling every mention of the mayor and his staff. Annie prepared herself for the incoming mockery, but all Jeff said was.

“I am impressed.” She looked up at him and to her surprise, he looked awed. The butterflies in her stomach did somersaults. Jeff linked his hands behind his head, making his muscles bulge out. Annie looked but didn’t comment. Jeff’s ego didn’t need more attention. 

“I wanted to chart everything we know so far. We need to know what we are dealing with. What if this whole thing is a waste of time?” 

“Spending time with me is never a waste of time.” The narcissism dripping from his voice was overwhelming. Annie rolled her eyes. 

“Can you not be… you for like five minutes?”

“But you like me.” Annie ignored him, but she knew it was true. She did like him. They had never not had fun together. To outsiders, they might even seem like friends. She turned back to the corkboard and pointed at each of the pictures.

“These are our 5 suspects: the mayor, his chief of staff, mayor’s wife, Mayor’s assistant, and his press secretary.” Jeff took a step closer to the corkboard, with a look of concentration in his eye. “What we need is motive.” 

“Why would the mayor want to leak his own administration’s secrets?” Annie stood next to him.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to win, but wants to save face.” 

“Wife?” 

“Maybe she’s bored with playing the perfect wife. I know I would be. Or maybe he’s cheating on her and this is her idea of revenge. We need more information. We don’t want to be blindsided. What if this person is dangerous?” Jeff gave her an incredulous look. 

“Annie. They are leaking Greendale government documents, not CIA code words. You’re just looking for the upper hand. You want to know who it is, so you can control the situation.” Her eyes narrowed and fists clenched. How could he pretend to know her? They didn’t even know each other that well. She was about to hurl it all back in his face when for the second time today her phone interrupted her. This time it was an email notification. Again from her old school email. How did they get into her email address? The email read: “I see you have a big lapdog to help sniff around. Play _Godfather_ at club MYNT - DT.” Jeff moved close behind her to read over her shoulder. He let out an exasperated noise. What worried her is how this person knew she and Jeff were working together. She didn’t have many friends, and most of them were too busy to go chase down leads with her. Annie couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched. She shivered.

“How did they know that I’d asked you for help?” She asked her voice low. 

“It’s not a hard inference to make. You only have five friends. Shirley is busy with her bakery. Troy is busy on the field, Abed is writing film reviews, Britta is bartending.”

“They knew you and I had joined forces and they knew you had bought the laptop.”

“The best way to catch this guy is to follow his trail and wait ‘till he slips up. Annie, you need to relax. Go off-book.” Annie looked down, unable to meet Jeff’s gaze. The last time he had told her to “go off-book” she had made out with him in front of a gaggle of elderly women. Annie cleared her throat and smoothed down her already straight cardigan. Jeff seemed to read the room and changed the subject. “MYNT is a club downtown.” 

“But playing _Godfather_. What we supposed to bash someone’s head in?”

“Have you not seen _The Godfather_?” Jeff’s eyes lit up. “I know what we have to do.” He grabbed his keys and jacket. Annie hadn’t even noticed that Jeff had thrown them on her bed. It felt normal. Yet when Vaughn moved her Ariel coffee cup, it bothered her until she fixed it. Annie stared at Jeff. Hoping that prolonged eye contact would make him tell her.

“Are you going to share?” Her patience grinding thin. He gave her a nonchalant smile and shrugged. 

“You are just going to trust me.” Annie’s palms were slick with sweat. Her stomach twisted into knots. 

“Why is that? What earthly reason do I have to trust you?” His eyebrows knit together and for a second Annie thought she saw a spec of sadness flit across his face. 

“I didn’t say you should trust me I said you have to.” If Jeff would not tell her, there was only one way through this. 

“Give me five minutes to get ready.” Annie went over to her dresser and pulled out an outfit. 

Locking the bathroom door behind her. She made a quick assessment, curled the strands of her shoulder-length hair framing her face. The dress had been a 21st birthday gift from herself. She had seen it in a trendy shop that Britta would not approve of and just had to have it. It had cost two weeks of salary, but Annie hadn’t cared. Annie took off her clothes and slipped the dress over her head. A black dress with a plunging neckline cinches at the waist and flows over her hips. It was the type of dress that would get her arrested in thirteen states. Annie found her black pumps. Freshened up her makeup and to top it all off added a deep red lipstick. When she opened the bathroom door, her insecurities took hold of her insides. “Look at little Annie Adderall all dressed up for a boy who has already got all he wanted from her”. Her mother’s voice entered her head “if you had a little more self-respect you wouldn’t be this desperate for attention.” What if he didn’t like her? In this dress. She hated that his approval mattered to her. They weren’t even friends. Annie gave herself a little jolt and opened the door. The pit in her stomach fades when sees his eyes widen in surprise. Despite herself, she found her telltale blush creeping up into her cheeks. 

“What do you think?” she asked Jeff. Annie saw his Adam’s apple bob. His voice soft and quiet. 

“Yeah…” was all he could say. The earnest note in his voice gave her pause. She smiled, she had stun, Jeff Winger, into silence. Not that it mattered, or that she cared. Jeff opened Annie’s front door. “After you, Milady?” She rolled her eyes at him but walked out the door. 

Club Mynt was… too much for Annie. She heard the club before she saw it. Jeff had flashed some cash at the door and the bouncer had let them right in. By the time they got inside, the music was vibrating Annie’s skull with its earth shattering beat. Inside, the club was dark. Sweaty, drunk people filled the club to the brim. All drunk and pushing each other. They gave everyone glow stick bracelets and necklaces. Most of the party goes were wearing the same illuminating bracelets which neon green, yellow, pink, and red light brush before her eyes. The throng of people was thick as she felt herself being separated from Jeff. She hated this. Why couldn’t it have been a fancy restaurant? She could feel people touching and rubbing up against her. It felt like they were compressing the air out of her body. Sweat pooled on her face. 

“Jeff?” She asked, worried that the crowd might crush her to death.

“Right here, kitten.” Annie’s inside clenched. That was a new nickname, and despite herself, she liked it. She saw Jeff’s huge outline next to her. She grabbed for his hand but caught his wrist instead, brushing her thumb over his pulse point. His arm froze, and he sounded rather hoarse when he said “Annie?” She instantly let go of his wrist. 

“Lead me where we have to go.” Jeff wrapped his arm around her shoulder and lead her to the back of the club. Jeff’s size helped immensely in getting through the horde of people around them. He was like a titan parting the sea for her. They made their way to what she realized was the men’s bathroom. What the hell was Jeff thinking? If he thought he could get her to… but the second they made it into the toilet, he let her go. The bathroom was disgusting. The paint was peeling off the walls. Black mold seemed to grow in the sinks. The floor was sticky. Jeff ignored all that in favor of the middle stall. He opened the door, walked in, and beckoned her inside. Annie's insides froze and she wrung her hands.

“You want me to go in there?”

“What are you going to say if someone walks in here and sees you in the men’s room?” A sigh escaped her but joined him, anyway. The stall was tiny and covered in graffiti. People had written everything from love notes to racist slurs on the walls. Jeff pointed at the toilet seat.

“Sit on the toilet seat so it looks like someone is using the toilet.” Annie’s brows knitted together.

“Won’t they see your feet too?” 

“Exactly.” Oh, he wanted to make it look like we’re having a quickey. Annie felt the heat between them rising and looked away. It made sense. Why else would two people be in a gross bathroom stall together?

Jeff reached over her and plucked off the top of the tank. For a second, Jeff’s barrel-wide chest against her cheek. She inhaled his cologne. Sandalwood and sage. Annie could feel his well-sculpted chest through his thin T-shirt. 

“Ah, ha found it.” His voice was full of triumph. Annie’s heart sped up. Her entire body at attention. This was it. Annie heard the ripping of tape and Jeff pulled away to tower over her. He smirked down at her. His eyes alight with the high of adventure. Jeff was holding a small plastic-wrapped package. This was the key to their success. Annie let out a long breath to calm her racing. Jeff reached down and brushed a curl of her hair that had stuck itself to her forehead back into place. The butterflies in her stomach fluttering. Annie stared at him, afraid to say anything that might burst this moment. Forgetting for a moment why they were here. Jeff found himself first. He cleared his throat and pocketed the package. 

“Let’s get out of here.” Grabbing her wrist in one hand and unlocking the door with the other. They made it out of the club in one piece, and Annie welcomed the cool night air as it danced over her skin. Jeff turned to her with his patented cool-guy smirk. “Your place or mine?”


End file.
